Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life (18 page)

Maybe you don’t know what you want to do yet.That’s fine—just set your compass to finding out what it is, and there’s a good
chance you’ll discover it. Meantime, learn everything you can about as many subjects and businesses as you possibly can. Knowledge is never a waste of time. I had studied the entertainment business a bit when I was younger, even though I had decided to go into real estate, and sure enough I ended up being in the entertainment business later in life. That was not wasted time, even though I hadn’t consciously planned to enter that field. Now I have a production company in Los Angeles, Trump Productions, and we’re entering the eighth season of
The Apprentice
. Considering that the first
Apprentice
season started in January of 2004, NBC, Mark Burnett, and I have had a very successful time of it.

It’s important for you to know something about this story. I didn’t do
The Apprentice
for money. That was not my incentive. I was initially paid next to nothing. Happily, it became a hit show, and the result is that it gave publicity to my brand, which has garnered greater financial success for me than ever before.

Sometimes being too cautious is the greatest risk of all. Preparation and organization will help to downsize the element of risk that is often involved in becoming rich. If you are well prepared and have everything in order, you will have provided yourself with a safety net. The best way to do that is to learn to be highly efficient. Highly efficient people keep their bases covered. Easier said than done, but it’s a skill set that you can acquire for yourself.

Efficiency is the productive use of time. Learn to monitor yourself and the amount of time you use to focus on any specific thing. Having a time limit can be a terrific way to make your brain work at its most effective pace. I remember reading about an order of monks who have a determined amount of time for each duty, then a bell rings and they stop and immediately go on to their next chore. Creating and employing a discipline of focus is a good way to avoid spending more time than necessary on any one thing. I had an editor who, after a meeting with me in my office, commented
that he needed oxygen. He wasn’t accustomed to the fast pace he encountered, and I think he learned something about economy of time.

In summing up, if you want to get rich, two important considerations are passion and efficiency: Have passion for what you do and be efficient about it at the same time. That combination has worked for me.

—VINCENT LOMBARDI

T
here’s a saying I remember that is appropriate for this subject: “If you’re going to live in the river, better make friends with the crocodiles.” That being said, let’s proceed to this topic, which hopefully will help to make your business life as reptile-free as possible.

I’ve been fortunate to work with people I like. Some of my employees have been with me for twenty, twenty-five, even thirty years. If we didn’t like each other, that would be a long-term sentence of misery. As it is, we work together well, we respect each other, and we get a lot accomplished. Management becomes a whole lot easier if you are careful when finding employees or partners.

People I work well with have to work fast. That’s how I work, and they follow suit. Allen Weisselberg, my CFO, Rhona Graff, VP and my chief assistant, and Jeffrey McConney, my controller, have the ability to distill a lot of information and can explain
something to me with a minimum of words, sometimes ten words or less. Considering how much I have to do every day, I appreciate this brevity. George Ross, Senior Counsel, Jason Greenblat, General Counsel, and Matthew Calamari, my COO, have the same ability. It’s not that I don’t enjoy talking with them on a personal level, but our agendas have to be attended to and by now we all know how to get things done quickly, both individually and as a team. The respect goes both ways, and it’s a great environment for everyone.

If you can get a core group around you that you like and who understands your needs, you will be heading in the right direction. Sometimes I think it’s divine intervention when the right people show up, because as we all know, it happens that people who give great interviews sometimes aren’t so great, and vice versa. In that sense, every hire is a bit of a gamble. Solid gold credentials don’t always mean solid gold people, but sometimes they do. You have to give people a chance to prove themselves. But in the interim, it helps a lot if you like having them around to begin with.

You will have to see beyond what is presented to you. Every person has unique talents that may or may not be in their job description or listed on their resume. People are not one-dimensional. I don’t like being underestimated or stereotyped, so it is safe for me to assume that other people don’t like it either. I appreciate being seen as something more than my public persona, and people whom work for me know that although I may be demanding, I am also fair. My door is always open, and they feel confident that when they have something to say, I’ll be listening.

Someone recently wrote in to ask me how to manage people whom she didn’t like. My response was to ask her if she liked anything about any of the people she was attempting to manage. We all have hidden potential, and a good manager will find it. A good manager will also look for what he or she
likes
about the people
around them. No one is perfect. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Your attitude toward others plays a big part in surrounding yourself with the right people. If you don’t like the people around you, you might start by taking a look at yourself first.

Most of us spend a great deal of our time at our jobs. That fact alone makes it important to carefully assess what kind of people we want to spend it with. What matters to you? What combination of personalities will make the day the most effective for everyone? An organization is ever evolving, as we are, and a good balance is necessary for everyone. Does everyone understand, clearly, what the common goal of the organization is? One reason Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric have done such remarkable jobs is that they understand—thoroughly—what our goals are and make significant and daily contributions to that end. They work together effectively as a team and individually, which is the ideal representation for any organization.

Make an effort to make your working environment as pleasant and effective as possible. It’s not impossible—my organization proves that it’s not impossible. Just set the example, and you’ll be a magnet for the right people. That’s the best way to work with people you like.

—RICHARD BUCKMINSTER FULLER

I
’ve recently encountered a situation that brought me back to something I had learned a long time ago—that it’s not just business acumen but integrity that carries you forward in the business world. It’s as simple as keeping your word or, in some cases, remembering what your words were. It seems that for some people, simple isn’t always easy.

I came from the world of construction and real estate development, which is known for being demanding and difficult, but it also requires precision. There can’t be anything haphazard in construction or people can be injured. “Happenstance” is not acceptable. I’ve applied that approach to everything I do.

I can remember when a visitor to my offices commented on how many blueprints there were. He said, “Some people have skeletons in their closets, but I can see that Trump has blueprints in his.” Sometimes I think people forget that I’m a builder, a developer. That’s my core, and blueprints are important. It took me
awhile to realize how valuable that background was in forming my discipline as a businessman. It gave me a foundation from which to operate and expand and a tendency toward thoroughness.

There’s integrity to building that cannot be compromised. We’ve all seen the results of hastily constructed buildings in the earthquakes and in other disasters around the world. I will not jeopardize the safety and well-being of people, and if I’m known to be a stickler for details, that is one of the reasons.

Our actions and words will eventually point us toward having a reputation for having integrity or not having integrity. I’ve been around long enough to know how valuable a commodity candor can be. As a businessperson, it’s a strength that can see you through everything.

Another important skill is negotiation. I receive many requests asking me about my negotiation skills, and there’s a balance to successful negotiation that many people fail to see. The best negotiation is when both sides win.There’s a compromise involved, which means careful listening, and when that is achieved you’ll see results that work. Business is an art in itself, and powerful negotiation skills are one of the techniques necessary to facilitate success.

I give a lot of speeches, and one thing I will always emphasize is the importance of passion. If you don’t love what you’re doing, your margin for success is significantly reduced, and tough times will be much tougher to get through. Passion gives a resiliency that is necessary to achieve great things. Michelangelo is remembered in our time more than any pope or politician of his time simply because he gave the world so much—and against great odds. That guy was intransigent. There is no doubt that he was passionate about what he was doing. When things seem difficult, it’s good to remind yourself of someone like that, someone who kept the integrity of his art first and foremost in his mind and actions.

The second point I will bring up when it comes to success is that you cannot give up.You have to keep going and moving forward, no matter what is happening around you or to you. It’s a form of positive thinking that is very powerful. A word that comes to mind as a result of this approach is “indomitable.” I overcame some great setbacks just by being obstinate. I refused to give in or give up. To me, that’s an integrity of purpose that cannot be defeated or interfered with to any significant level. Being steadfast in your intentions can reap great results.

The other word I like to think of along with indomitable is “tenacious.” In a way, they are almost interchangeable when it comes to business. Being tenacious will make you indomitable in the long run. The old tortoise versus the hare story still prevails.

With today’s globalization, I will emphasize the importance of paying attention to global events. The United States cannot be isolationist. We may be the super power, but what that really means is that we have more responsibility. Our position requires us to be more alert, more careful, and more empathetic than ever. Power is at its best when it’s used in the most compassionate way possible.

When it comes to business success, it is equally important to know that success carries the same sort of responsibility. Always know that you can be topped and that you can be toppled over. Keeping that in mind will guarantee that you are in your best form for competition. Even if you are currently the top gun, pretend that you are the underdog. It will improve your insight as well as your vision.

Intrinsic value is a value that has been overlooked in today’s marketplace. Everything has a dollar value, and it becomes very black and white. That is necessary in business. We live in a tangible world with tangible needs. But I will say that I often look for the obscure, the gray area that implies a mystery or a value that is
more than money alone can carry. I think most people will know what this is—something that is beyond monetary value. I read a story about an art collector who had amassed a fortune in art, but his prized possession was a painting of his deceased son done by a friend of his son’s. This painting was hung next to works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, and Miró. But it mattered most to the art collector. Its intrinsic value far surpassed the millions represented by the masters. When the collector died, he bequeathed his entire collection to the person who bought the painting of his son, which sold for $10.